History

Sigiriya (Lion Rock) sits on an extinct volcano. The magma that spewed from inside the volcano built up on the rim of the volcano over the years. After it cooled, it plugged the volcano. Life around the rock began to exist and so did tourism millions of years later. History of Sigiriya ‘Hey look a …

Polonnaruwa has many names. It was one of the capitals of ancient Sri Lanka. Other names for it were Jananathamangalam and Thambapanni. Currently the city is hanging on to Polonnaruwa, which is easier to pronounce than Jananathamangalam. The Tamils from South India called it Polannaruvai and other different names. Getting to Polonnaruwa’s ancient city Polonnaruwa …

Jaffna – 1995 It was late in the evening when shots rang out in the air. When shots ring out in the evening sky in jaffna, it is an indication of a raging battle between the rebels and the Sri Lankan security forces. By that time in the evening, fighting between the security forces and …

Mumbai has a cosmopolitan culture and has varied traditions. It is more of a surprise that there was once a thriving population of the Chinese people living in Chinatown. When I first learned of this place, I looked for pictures on the internet. There it was, a red door of a three-storey building. This building …

Keeping your country out of war is always smart and best for everyone. While wars and battles are always a bitch, not winning them is even more so. Forts can stop an invading enemy outside its walls, or keep the occupants boxed in while taking a pounding from the enemy fire. Countries built forts to …

You are a government and you want to provide a new place for people that have already filled the city to the brim. You may create a new neighborhood and then tell some people to move there. However, those people get a new place and a new home to call their own, but they do …

Bangalore is hardly the pété (town) and the the gramas (villages) that surrounded the main town. It is a global village where road traffic thrives. When the city along was started, people did not complain of much, except for the mosquitoes from the swamp near their house. The villages around the Bangalore town grew to …